The full trailer for Season 2 of the Emmy Award-winning HBO Max series Hacks is here and there are plenty of sights to see on the comedy crew’s bus tour from Hell.
In Season 2, the show pounds the pavement as the tumultuous tutelage of young, quasi-“canceled” comedy writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) by the longtime Las Vegas marquee comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) hits the road on a cross-country circuit in support of the latter’s new stage show.
The trailer opens with Elton John’s “The Bitch Is Back” as Vance tells her braintrust of assistants that “it’s all about back-to-basics” while adding the eccentric tour manager Alice, played by Laurie Metcalf, to the team. The Lady Bird star immediately makes her presence known while introducing herself as “Weed,” a nickname given to her by Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz. She explains, “Once Pete Wentz gives you a nickname, it sticks.”
It expands on the initial teaser released earlier this month, with the stakes building around Ava’s tell-all email, while one of Smart’s questionable dance moves in the first preview gets the full clip treatment. Vance sashays onto a stage as Ava watches in horror, saying “Oh no, she’s doing Ellen.” Watch the Hacks Season 2 trailer below.
Hacks hits the ground running on May 12th. The eight-episode season will stream on a weekly two-episode release schedule, wrapping with the season finale on June 2nd.
Among the returning cast with Smart and Einbinder are Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Jane Adams, Christopher McDonald, Kaitlin Olson, Paul W. Downs, Poppy Liu, Rose Abdoo, Mark Indelicato, Meg Stalter, Angela E. Gibbs, Luenell, Johnny Sibilly, Joe Mande, Ally Maki, and Lorenza Izzo. Season 2 adds Metcalf, Martha Kelly, Ming-na Wen, and Susie Essman as new recurring cast members along with Margaret Cho and Devon Sawa, who will be featured guest stars.
Hacks was created by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, the creative team who won the 2021 Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. Aniello nabbed the Emmy for Outstanding Directing separately, while Jean Smart garnered the Lead Actress prize at the Emmys and Golden Globes. The show was also awarded the 2021 Golden Globe for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.